Several parks and green spaces in Paris have been sealed off from the public for the rat-catchers to bait traps with a powerful poison.

The measures also included introducing rat-proof rubbish bins and cleaning up litter left on the street as quickly as possible.

People have been warned not to feed rats or pigeons in the city.

There’s no official data on the Paris rat population, but some statistics estimate there were six million rats in central Paris. Biologists calculate that a single pair of rats could have 15,000 descendants by the end of a year.